Doing the best with what it's got: Smart management of big data at Coca-Cola

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Emily Barley, Event Reports, Esomar Summer Academy, June 2015

This event report looks at the ways in which Coca-Cola is overcoming the challenges it faces in measuring the impact of campaigns across platforms and countries. View Summary

This event report looks at the ways in which Coca-Cola is overcoming the challenges it faces in measuring the impact of campaigns across platforms and countries.

The focus is on getting answers with the current available information and understanding where gaps exist.

A central dashboard brings together data from across the company, including sales data, to understand campaign performance.

This integrated media communications measurement system allows a tiered approach to analysis depending on the complexity of the questions being asked.

The marketing emphasis has shifted from consumers' engagement with media to their engagement with the creative message and this too is being built into the data platform.

2

Unilever (Drink and beverages, non-alcoholic)

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Euromonitor Profiles, June 2015

This Company Profile from Euromonitor provides key details and analysis of Unilever, the owner of brands such as Lipton, Brooke Bond and PG Tips. View Summary

This Company Profile from Euromonitor provides key details and analysis of Unilever, the owner of brands such as Lipton, Brooke Bond and PG Tips. Included is a strategic evaluation with key facts about the UK and Netherlands based company, competitive positioning against comparative brands, and assessment of its position in the soft drinks market. Brand opportunities and strategy are identified and recommendations for the future offered.

3

Mobilising content for mobile: Insights from Coca-Cola and Google

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Low Lai Chow, Event Reports, Content Conversations, June 2015

This event report looks at how brands and agencies are addressing the need to create more mobile-friendly content to engage with consumers. View Summary

This event report looks at how brands and agencies are addressing the need to create more mobile-friendly content to engage with consumers.

Agencies are restructuring to integrate mobile into everything they do.

Brands need to focus on the details of a user-friendly mobile experience or risk alienating consumers.

Understanding location data can help marketers deliver appropriate content for the time of day.

Marketers also need to consider the overarching consumer journey and match content to platform and to purchase intent.

4

How Coca-Cola combined social media and sustainability

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Stephen Whiteside, Event Reports, ClickZ, April 2015

This event report outlines how Coca-Cola, the soft drinks giant, made highly effective use of social media to champion its sustainability efforts. View Summary

This event report outlines how Coca-Cola, the soft drinks giant, made highly effective use of social media to champion its sustainability efforts.

Having traditionally relied on its PR team to spread the word about its CSR activities, the firm decided to add a direct-to-consumer element into the mix on social media.

While its sustainability content previously relied on organic discovery, the allocation of a modest budget to buy targeted ads on social sites yielded millions of impressions.

By testing various types of creative simultaneously, the organisation was quickly able to learn which forms of content resonated most strongly with consumers.

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Making entertainment, not just fizzy drinks: Seven guiding principles of PepsiCo China

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Low Lai Chow, Event Reports, All That Matters, May 2015

This event report outlines how PepsiCo goes about building its brands in China, with a particular emphasis on entertainment, to the point that it sees itself as "an entertainment company selling soft drinks". View Summary

This event report outlines how PepsiCo goes about building its brands in China, with a particular emphasis on entertainment, to the point that it sees itself as "an entertainment company selling soft drinks".

The use of celebrities is something that defines the brand, which is also helping to create them as well as just recruiting them.

Pepsi also looks to develop partnerships that will take it into new areas, generating public interest and earned media at the same time.

It has set up a Youth Board of directors, where youth leaders can critique campaigns as well as providing foresights.

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Right time, right place: How Coca-Cola reached lapsed consumers using context and location marketing

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Lena Roland, Event Reports, Marketing Week Live, April 2015

This event report looks at some of the ways in which brands have successfully used context and location to promote offers and generate awareness. View Summary

This event report looks at some of the ways in which brands have successfully used context and location to promote offers and generate awareness.

Coca-Cola teamed with a UK supermarket to identify infrequent purchasers and then to offer them, via Facebook, personalised bottles at their local store.

A variant approach geo-fenced stores and targeted lapsed buyers via location-triggered text messages when they came within 100m of those stores known to them.

British Airways ingeniously used bar codes in travel books and magazines to remind those consumers thinking about travelling that it is a global airline.

7

Coca-Cola's road to Rio 2016

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Stephen Whiteside, Event Reports, IEG Sponsorship, April 2015

This event report outlines how Coca-Cola's sponsorship programs of the Olympics has evolved since 2008 – and the main issues shaping the company's thinking before the 2016 Games in Brazil. View Summary

This event report outlines how Coca-Cola's sponsorship programs of the Olympics has evolved since 2008 – and the main issues shaping the company's thinking before the 2016 Games in Brazil.

Having made major strides in the mobile and social space during the last two summer Olympics, Coca-Cola is planning to ramp up its content, relevance and engagement in Rio.

Real-time marketing was a major feature of its efforts surrounding the 2014 FIFA World Cup – also in Brazil – and is likely to play a crucial role in Brazil.

Looking ahead to the next Olympics and beyond, sponsorship rights holders need to help their partner brands in terms of creating and distributing content, thus helping them ward off the threat of guerrilla marketing campaigns.

Ohno undertook eight months of training for the IRONMAN World Championship, using chocolate milk as a recovery drink along the way, and generating considerable attention for the product in the process.

This event report outlines how the "Share a Coke" program helped the soft-drinks brand return to growth after a period of declining sales. View Summary

This event report outlines how the "Share a Coke" program helped the soft-drinks brand return to growth after a period of declining sales.

Coca-Cola’s iconic font is an integral part of its brand identity, having remained unchanged for almost 130 years.

Recognising the fact that a large part of its equity rests on social occasions and interaction, the brand added people's names to bottles and cans so they would buy its products for themselves and, even more importantly, for their friends.

To ensure this effort struck an authentic note in the US, Coca-Cola waited a month after introducing its refreshed packaging before running any formal marketing efforts – thus allowing consumers to discover them organically.

10

Red Bull Media House opens its doors to brand partners

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Stephen Whiteside, Event Reports, IEG Sponsorship, April 2015

This event report outlines how Red Bull Media House is drawing on its unparalleled expertise in content creation to help other brands engage consumers. View Summary

This event report outlines how Red Bull Media House is drawing on its unparalleled expertise in content creation to help other brands engage consumers.

Founded in 2008, Red Bull Media House assumed responsibility for delivering the huge slate of content which its namesake energy drink uses to authentically connect with consumers.

As a standalone organisation, the company's media arm is increasingly competing for brand dollars, and has worked with partners including adidas and Nokia.

By tapping Red Bull's unique strengths as a marketing organisation around the world, the Media House seeks to build content partnerships benefitting both Red Bull and its third-party clients.

11

Brand extensions: Why Coke Life is doomed to fail

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Patrick Fagan, Admap, April 2015, pp. 18-19

This article argues that Coca-Cola's new low-sugar variant - Coca-Cola Life - is doomed to fail. View Summary

This article argues that Coca-Cola's new low-sugar variant - Coca-Cola Life - is doomed to fail.

To survive and thrive, brands must adapt to changing circumstances and demands - and Coca-Cola has done this successfully over generations.

More recently, the brand has introduced a lower-sugar variant - Coca-Cola Life - hoping to address rising concerns about calories and sugar content in drinks.

However, this is doomed to fail because consumers are not rational in their purchase decisions and the branding of Coke Life is unrecognisable as Coke because the colour is different.

Because the brand has lost its subconscious associations with a change in packaging colour, it will taste different to consumers.

12

Marketing to children: the role of co-creation and humour for the LOL generation

This event report looks at two techniques – co-creation and humour – that marketers can use to reach different age groups within the children's market. View Summary

This event report looks at two techniques – co-creation and humour – that marketers can use to reach different age groups within the children's market.

Soft drinks business Britvic identified the importance of outdoor play and risk-taking and developed an experiential campaign for 8-12 year olds based on a series of workshops where children helped design the challenge.

An older age group is defined by LOLology, the ideology of fun, and the pursuit of happiness.

But they are also assailed by doubt and expectations of debt which colour their approach to financial matters.

13

How Vita Coco seeded a coconut-water brand

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Geoffrey Precourt, Event Reports, ANA Brand Masters, February 2015

This event report charts the rise to prominence of Vita Coco, a coconut-water drink that was launched in 2004 and helped create a new category. View Summary

This event report charts the rise to prominence of Vita Coco, a coconut-water drink that was launched in 2004 and helped create a new category.

Initially, the brand utilized field marketing to get its products into the hands of professional sports players, as well as trying to reach Brooklyn trendsetters.

As the product has gained scale, it has allied with various celebrities - including big names such as Madonna and Rihanna - to engage consumers.

By embedding itself in cultural shifts towards health and wellness and working with various big names, the product has remained strong as rival offerings from Coca-Cola and PepsiCo have fought to gain ground in this space.

14

Suntory Ltd (Drink and beverages, non-alcoholic)

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Euromonitor Profiles, February 2015

This Company Profile from Euromonitor provides key details and analysis of Suntory Ltd. Included is a strategic evaluation with key facts about the Japanese company, competitive positioning against comparative brands, and assessment of its position in the soft drinks market. View Summary

This Company Profile from Euromonitor provides key details and analysis of Suntory Ltd. Included is a strategic evaluation with key facts about the Japanese company, competitive positioning against comparative brands, and assessment of its position in the soft drinks market. Brand opportunities and strategy are identified and recommendations for the future offered.

It also provides information that can be broken down in various ways, including by day part, geography and flavour combination.

An especially important area of focus for the Coca-Cola Company has been gaining a greater understanding of customer habits concerning its long-tail brands.

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PepsiCo’s shopper strategy looks beyond millennials

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Stephen Whiteside, Event Reports, The Market Research Event, October 2014

This event report discusses why PepsiCo, the food and beverage group, is avoiding the temptation of solely focusing on millennials. View Summary

This event report discusses why PepsiCo, the food and beverage group, is avoiding the temptation of solely focusing on millennials.

Despite the attractiveness of this demographic, it cannot drive growth for every single product on the shelf. While many PepsiCo brands, like Doritos, Gatorade and Mountain Dew, have long focused on younger consumers, offering like Tropicana and Quaker Oats skew slightly older.

The preferences of certain age-groups frequently correspond with other key customer metrics, meaning millennials and high-income shoppers have a lot in common, as do Boomers and low-income shoppers.

Digging deep into these attitudes and behaviours of these consumers has allowed PepsiCo to distinguish different day parts, missions and "macro spaces".

18

Nestlé SA (Drink and beverages, non-alcoholic)

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Euromonitor Profiles, November 2014

This Company Profile from Euromonitor provides key details and analysis of Nestlé's hot drinks brands, including Nespresso and Nescafé. View Summary

This Company Profile from Euromonitor provides key details and analysis of Nestlé's hot drinks brands, including Nespresso and Nescafé. Included is a strategic evaluation with key facts about the Swiss company, competitive positioning against comparative brands, and assessment of its position in the hot drinks market. Brand opportunities and strategy are identified and recommendations for the future offered.

19

The challenge of staying ahead: How Pepsi keeps its finger on the Pulse

This event report explains how Pepsi, the soft drinks brand, has tapped into the desire among millennials to enjoy unique experience and stay in touch with pop culture by relaunching its website, with a focus on sports, music, entertainment and similar subjects. View Summary

This event report explains how Pepsi, the soft drinks brand, has tapped into the desire among millennials to enjoy unique experience and stay in touch with pop culture by relaunching its website, with a focus on sports, music, entertainment and similar subjects.

Pepsi Pulse reflects the brand’s status as a lifestyle product, as well as mirroring the changing way that shoppers want to interact with companies.

Moving into a realm traditionally occupied by publishers reflects the need for marketers to become "brand makers", not brand managers.

Pepsi Pulse attracts over 7.5 million regular visitors, and has accumulated more than 349 million social media impressions to date.

20

Coca-Cola Co (Drink and beverages, non-alcoholic)

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Euromonitor Profiles, October 2014

This Company Profile from Euromonitor provides key details and analysis of The Coca-Cola Co, the owner of brands such as Minute Maid. View Summary

This Company Profile from Euromonitor provides key details and analysis of The Coca-Cola Co, the owner of brands such as Minute Maid. Included is a strategic evaluation with key facts about the US company, competitive positioning against comparative brands, and assessment of its position in the soft drinks market. Brand opportunities and strategy are identified and recommendations for the future offered.

This event report discusses how Red Bull has moved beyond selling energy drinks to organising a huge range of branded events, as well as controlling assets like soccer teams, Formula One racing cars and a music studio. View Summary

This event report discusses how Red Bull has moved beyond selling energy drinks to organising a huge range of branded events, as well as controlling assets like soccer teams, Formula One racing cars and a music studio.

One key tactic for the brand has involved reaching out to "haters" in music, action sports and similar scenes to find out ways it can genuinely add value to their activities, rather than simply becoming a traditional sponsor.

As well as being involved in over 160 sports, Red Bull runs more than 300 branded events across the US every year, from flying contents to downhill ice-skating races and a freestyle motorcross tour.

Content marketing helps bring these events to life on the global level, as well as drawing attention to its more than 600 endorsers across the globe.

22

Partnering with mums and championing the new youth: Coca-Cola's success in India

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Low Lai Chow, Event Reports, The APPIES, August 2014

This event report look at how Coca-Cola successfully positioned itself as a meal accompaniment in India and also tapped into teens' social consciousness to increase brand affinity with this particular group. View Summary

This event report look at how Coca-Cola successfully positioned itself as a meal accompaniment in India and also tapped into teens' social consciousness to increase brand affinity with this particular group.

Recognising that mothers were the biggest obstacle to getting the drink into homes, the brand devised a campaign around helping them get families to put down their mobile devices and eat together.

Ads were scheduled around dinner time and included prominent images of large PET bottles rather than cans to promote the drink as a family beverage, with resulting improvements in associated metrics.

A second campaign built on the insight that teens were more socially aware than generally thought, inviting them to share a Coke with a stranger and share stories of kindness.

Coke overtook Pepsi in the 'teen love' metric as a result.

23

Mountain Dew: Beyond the Wall

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Case Studies on Warc, Warc 100, 2014

In this campaign, soft drinks brand Mountain Dew teamed up with graffiti artist Haser and a team of tech experts to bring graffiti to life in 3D. View Summary

In this campaign, soft drinks brand Mountain Dew teamed up with graffiti artist Haser and a team of tech experts to bring graffiti to life in 3D.

The campaign aim was to engage people with a passion for street art to improve brand engagement.

Using an online version of the motion capture technology, the brand invited fans to push their own pieces to the next level and encouraged them to take it to the streets of the world with Google Street View.

Activity was backed with digital and social media ads, plus a nationwide tour.

In all, 24% of Mountain Dew's target market participated in the campaign, while sales grew 28%.

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How design is helping PepsiCo win the marketing war

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Stephen Whiteside, Event Reports, Omni-Channel Activation, June 2014

This event report discusses how PepsiCo, the beverage and snacks group, views the role of design. View Summary

This event report discusses how PepsiCo, the beverage and snacks group, views the role of design.

Having named its first senior design officer in mid-2012, the firm has joined a growing number of brand owners tapping into this area.

Apple and Starbucks helped pioneer this model, with major players like Target, Procter & Gamble and Johnson & Johnson also making significant strides.

Rather than seeing design as mere "decoration", it should be regarded as a counterweight to traditional push models of communications.

By providing cohesive, enjoyable experiences across numerous touchpoints, design can serve as an emotional lever that generates consumer affection.

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Five ways Coke Indonesia changed itself to excel at social

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Low Lai Chow, Event Reports, Social Matters Singapore, May 2014

This event report explains how Coca-Cola transformed its approach to social media in Indonesia to make the brand more relevant to its customers. View Summary

This event report explains how Coca-Cola transformed its approach to social media in Indonesia to make the brand more relevant to its customers.

This involved recruiting and training a team to listen and respond to consumers and the setting up of an editorial board to oversee content creation.

In order to speed up that content creation, a lengthy briefing process for agencies was cut out and the legal department brought onside.

Ways are being found to link social back to the core business and drive sales.